Snow White & The Huntsman
by Nina Vale
Summary: Winter Schnee, the eldest Princess of the Atlas Kingdom, has been kept in a tower by evil Queen Cinder.One day, she escapes into the dark forest. There she encounters Qrow Branwen, a cynical and brash ex-Huntsman,betrayed by the queen. Together they would
1. Snow White

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. RWBY and it's characters belongs to Rooster Teeh, while Snow White & The Huntsman belongs to Universal Pictures. I get no profit from this. **

* * *

Remnant was a prosperous world, and its four Kingdoms lived in harmony...but it all has changed when the Black Queen came to power. Nobody knew where she came from; one day, she just appeared on the back of a Grimm Dragon, and since then, the Kingdoms fell into the darkness. The Huntsmen and Huntresses- the protectors of the world- faded away, either corrupted or killed; the few that survived kept in the shadows, hiding on the edges of kingdoms, becoming more like legends and myths than reality.

This is the world where this tale begins...

* * *

Winter Schnee sighed in frustration, her eyes fixed on the ceiling of her prison. How long had she been here? It had to have been ages by now... She had been but a little girl, barely thirteen years of age when it happened.

Her mind wandered back to that day...

* * *

 _"Good, very good," General Ironwood nodded with approval, "For someone so young, your skills are impressive."_

 _Those words made her heart burst with pride. General James Ironwood is one of the most renowned military leaders in whole of Remnant, and responsible for her father's kingdom rise to power. For him to praise her skills is a high praise indeed. She hid her excitement, however, only nodding at him with a polite smile. She is a Schnee, after all, and she wants a place in General's army; she cannot have him see her as over-emotional child._

 _"Thank you General," she said, "it is a great honour to be praised by a man like you."_

 _He smiled back at her, returning her nod. With that, their training was over._

* * *

 _A while later she was strolling the white marble corridors, her long white and blue dress trailing behind her. She let out a deep sigh, her previous good humour all but gone. It's always like this when she meets with General Ironwood for sparring sessions: she's elated while they last, but afterwards her mood goes down._

 _She supposed it was because when everything is gone she is faced with the reality of it all. While her father has let her polish her fencing skills and her summoning- she is a Schnee after all, and her father has no sons, nor does it look like he'll ever have any- that is all she is allowed to do. He would NEVER give his consent when it comes to her joining the military._

 _'You are gifted as a Schnee, that is true, and it is good to excel in your summoning, but the military is not for you. They are below you. They are there to serve us. And besides my dear, dear daughter, you are a woman, and it is not a woman's purpose to serve in an army.'_

 _She let out another a deep sigh._

 _'Why does father have to be so difficult?' she thougth_

 _"Winter!" she heard a small, cute voice calling from behind her."Winter!"_

 _She turned around. It was Weiss!_

 _She smiled and dropped to her knees, welcoming her little sister._

 _"I have something for you!" said Weiss, pulling out an apple from behind of her back. Winter's smile grew larger and her expression softened She could never stay cross for long with this little one around! She took the fruit, and was about to bite it when hell literally broke loose._

 _There was an explosion, the windows burst, and people started screaming. They both turned and saw- to their utter terror- Grimm. Weiss screamed in fear and even Winter froze for a while. She vaguely wondered where the guards were...but she finally woke from the spell. She picked up Weiss and broke into the run, calling for both her parents and the guards, but no one answered her, her yells drowning in the overall noise. She turned around the corner and stopped, a gasp leaving her lips as her way was blocked by a group of heavily armed men in masks. She spun around, but the Grimm were closing in behind her, undoubtedly drawn closer by her and Weiss's fear. She glanced between the two groups and then made her escape, sprinting down a hallway to the left. She knew that there are two groups after her now, but she didn't dare look back; some invisible force seemed to be pushing her forward. She finally made it to the stairs and, seeing the light at the end, sped up, soon running out into the courtyard._

 _What her eyes met there caused her to pause and she almost dropped Weiss in shock and fear._

 _The place was a total bloodshed. Her father's guards fighting the Grimm the masked soldiers, the civilians feeling in fear, chased by the enemy and slaughtered. She tried retreat back inside, but the sounds coming from there were not welcoming either. Then something crashed, and Weiss cried out, her little arms tighten around Winter's neck. Winter did know what's happening until finally a familiar voice reached her ears. She turned around and spotted General Ironwood, fighting on his horse. This sight filled her with relief, and she called out for him while running down the stairs and making her way towards him. He finally saw her and, slaughtering one last Grimm, turned his horse to meet her._

 _Ever caring for Weiss, she raised her younger sibling up, trying to pass her to the General first. He noticed and reached out with his arm, grabbing Weiss. Of course, the young girl didn't want to let go, but Winter pushed her away._

 _Having secured the younger of the sisters, General reached his hand out to Winter, but the chaos of the battle came between them, and someone grabbed Winter. Weiss cried out, yelling her name in panic just as Winter yelled hers, trying to wriggle herself out of her foe's grasp. But whoever was holding her was too strong. They held onto her tight, and a second later she was clubbed over the head and blacked out._

* * *

Winter blinked a few times, returning to reality. She later found out that the man who had knocked her out was Mercury Black, and he served under Roman Torchwick, who in turn served Queen Cinder Fall. At first Winter had been sure she'd die right there, but for some reason Torchwick decided to spare her.

 _'You never know whenever she'll come of value,'_ he'd said, and thus she'd been put on a ship that carried her across the sea to the far island of Patch and thrown into her cell of despair. All alone, not knowing what has happened to her land. Not knowing what has become of her people, of General Ironwood, and most importantly, her little sister Weiss. Was she even alive? Winter shook her head. She couldn't allow herself to think like this.

In that very moment she heard a sharp yell and sounds of a scuffle coming from the other side of the wooden door. She quickly got up, throwing away the dirty rags that had served her for covers and went to see what was going on. Through the thick iron bars she caught a glimpse of a young girl being ruthlessly thrown into the cell opposite her own. She waited silently for the guards to march away, before trying to contact her fellow prisoner; it has been so long since she'd seen people other than the guards. The appearance of another female, someone from the outside world, gave her an odd sense of comfort.

"Hello?" she called out. "...hello?" The seconds drew like hours, but finally the other girl's face appeared in the small, barred window of the door. It was a pretty young girl with long, red hair and green eyes, and from what Winter could see, she could not have been more than seventeen years old.

Exactly the age Weiss would be now...

"What's your name?" asked Winter

"...Pyrrha," answered the girl.

"What happened to you?" was the next question. Winter had not heard much of the outside world in her long stay here. She got occasional visits from the guards, who would only leave her enough food and drink to keep her alive, as well as new clothing when she started to grow out of her old ones, but they had never spoken a word to her. It always had been death glares and scowls.

"All the girls from my village had been taken," Pyrrha explained, her voice quiet and scared. Winter could not fault her for that. "I was trying to reach General Ironwood's stronghold when I was caught by the Queen's guards."

The name of her former teacher and commander of Atlesean Army caused Winter's heart to skip a beat and fill with hope. She could hardly contain herself, her slim fingers grasping the bars tightly.

"General Ironwood?" she asked breathlessly. "He's still alive? Does he still fight in the name of Atlas? In the name of Remnant?"

Pyrrha nodded.

That was a relief. Now for the most important question of all, the one that had been on her mind all these years!

"...and Weiss Schnee? Is she alive?" she questioned. "Please," she added, "she's my sister..."

Pyrrha's eyes winded at the confession and she backed away from the bars. "You're Winter Schnee, the eldest princess!" she gasped, covering her mouth with her hand.

Winter swallowed again, before nodding. "Yes," she said, "but please, tell me what you know of my sister...!"

There was a long pause before Pyrrha let out a sigh. "I'm sorry, but I do not know of her fate," she confessed. "I really do not, Princess; nobody even knew that she had escaped with the General. Everyone from your household was believed to be dead until now. I truly am sorry," she added meekly.

Winter bowed her head, blinking away the tears that welled up in her eyes as her heart ached, her hopes crashing to the ground.

"Princess...," she heard Pyrrha ask after a while, "...what will happen to me?"

She raised her head and looked back to her neighbour. The pain in her heart only rose as she saw the scared look in those bright, emerald eyes. Her throat was tight but she managed to draw out those four little words.

"...I do not know."

* * *

Cinder Fall looked out of the window of the Signal castle. The view was wretched: people hurrying to and fro, all closed in, scared and tiny. Many trying to collect scraps for their dinner.

'How pathetic' she thought, a small smile making it's way onto her face; this was exactly how she wanted things to run.

Her musings were interrupted by the creek of the opening door and the sound of scuffling boots. She turned around and saw Mercury Black and Emerald Sustrai dragging in two bound men with bags over their heads. A second later the two prisoners had been forced to their knees before her.

"These two had been caught attempting an ambush on one of our supply trains," Mercury explained as he yanked the bags off the men's faces. She immediately recognized the bigger man: Sir Peter Port, one of the former Valean Huntsman, now serving under Ironwood. Her eyes left him, travelling to his young companion. It was a boy about seventeen years of age, slender in body, with scraggly blond hair. His blue eyes were burning with hatred and defiance. It amused her.

"Well, well, well...!" She drew the words out, making her way towards him, her glass slippers echoing in the stone halls, "Who do we have here? Your apprentice, Port? I must say, he is quite handsome." She looked the boy in the eyes, "What is your name, young man?"

"Leave him alone!" growled the older man.

"What is your name?" she repeated, not taking her eyes of the blond.

"...Jaune Arc," answered the boy.

"Arc...," she said, titling her head to the side, "a noble name, to be sure." She continued, reaching out her hand and running her finger down his cheek, "Your family members have been quite tough nuts to crack."

Jaune glared at her even harder, saying nothing before suddenly slipping an arm from his bindings and grabbing the sword that has been hanging on his guard's hip.

"JAUNE, NO!" cried Port, but he was too late; the blade had already pierced Cinder's abdomen. Everything and everyone went silent. Cinder let out a short gasp, and her gaze went down, shifting between the steel and Jaune, who was still glaring at her, only now a bit more triumphant.

But his expression soon changed to confusion when she smirked, and this confusion turned to fear and shock when she effortlessly pulled the sword out, tossing it away as if it was made of paper. She gave the weapon an uncaring glance, before turning back to her assailant.

"You would kill your Queen?" she asked, before hoisting him up so he would be on same level as her. She looked him deep in the eyes as she trailed her fingers down to his chest, and clenched them, driving her hand into flesh. She smiled, watching the blue eyes widen and then dim as the life escaped from them. They soon dulled and closed, and she threw the body across the room as if it was naught but an old sack. Her eyes then turned to her other prisoner. Emerald immediately put a sword to the old man's neck, ready to slit his throat, but the Queen raised her hand, stopping the greenette.

"No," she said, "let him go, so he can carry the news back to Ironwood." With that she turned around, heading out of the throne room, and as she left she heard Peter Port being pulled to his feet and dragged away.

* * *

That evening Cinder was in her room, watching her reflection in her black obsidian mirror. She felt tried for some reason, weak. She had been feeling like this quite a lot lately, and she didn't know why. Perhaps it was because there was fewer and fewer people left with true power, fewer and fewer young women whose power she could take away. But she doubted that; she had been very careful about her secrets, about what fuelled her power, and what happens to those with unlocked aura. So then...why? Why was she feeling so spent? Why was she feeling so old?

Her chain of thought was interrupted by loud footsteps, and soon enough she saw Roman's face in the mirror. The red-haired man put his chin on her shoulder before planting a kiss on her neck.

"You are so beautiful," he told her. She did not reply, and he kissed her again. "I have a surprise for you, something I guarantee will lift your spirits!" With that he turned around, pointing at something with a nod of his head. She looked over her shoulder and a small smile appeared on her face.

In the middle of her room stood a young, red haired girl. Cinder could feel the fear coming from her, but also the power. Yes, she had powerful aura. She walked up to the girl, purposefully slow, all the while putting a white glove on her hand. She finally stopped right in front of her victim and thrust her hand forward. As soon as she did a small portal appeared, and from it emerged a large black and white scarab. The bug latched itself on the girl's face, drawing out a scream from her. Cinder smiled even wider as she felt the power coursing through her veins, filling her anew with strength and virile youth. After a while she recalled the scarab, letting the unconscious body of the girl hit the floor. She gave the redhead one final glance before motioning at Roman to take her away. The commander nodded and picked the unfortunate girl up, walking out. Once she was alone again, Cinder turned to the mirror.

"Mirror, Mirror, on the wall," she asked "who is the grandest of them all?"

The second she spoke the smooth surface of the mirror started to wrinkle and pool down, floating towards her like a stream. It stopped mere inches before her feet, and transformed itself into a tall figure.

"You are both powerful and beautiful, my Queen," it said, "but there is one who can surpass you. Her name is Winter Schnee"

Cinder felt anger burst in her chest, and licks of flame appeared in her hands.

"I knew it!" she barked, "That fool Torchwick should have killed her with the rest of the Atlesean scum!"

"But she can also be your salvation," continued the obsidian figure, unshaken by the display of anger. Cinder's flames died down.

"Continue...," she ordered, her voice tinted with interest now.

"She has special powers, my Queen, powers beyond that of girls you've been using. If you absorb her Aura, if you consume her heart, you will never have to fear death or time. You will be forever powerful!"

"Immortality...!" whispered Cinder reverently. Perhaps it was a good thing her lover let the Royal Heiress live... "ROMAN!" she called and in a second she heard his footsteps. He stayed around the corner though, no doubt having heard her outburst.

"Yes, my Queen?" he asked hesitantly.

"I need you to fetch me someone," she said.

* * *

Winter was alone again. Pyrrha had been hauled away some time ago to an unknown place, and the white haired woman did not expect to see her again. She let out a sharp cry and punched the wall. She felt so helpless, so small and weak!

In that moment a flicker of movement caught her eye. She turned around and fell back onto her bed as she nearly collided with a raven. The bird did not seem to be so scared of her though. It didn't move much, hanging above her head and flapping it's wings. After her initial shock faded she stood back up and reached out to the bird. Her fingers brushed against the soft feathers, causing the corvid let out a small caw before flying up to the window. It sat there, turning to back to her and cawed again, as if it wanted her to follow.

'Now Winter' she scolded herself,'this is silly. It's is just a bird-'

She didn't get to finish her thought when she felt a slight pain in her hand. The raven had returned and picked at her hand with it's beak, before flying up to the window again. She sighed. It looked like this bird was really determined. She had nothing better to do, so she got up and followed it. As soon as she reached the window the raven moved a bit, flying out, though it didn't go away, hanging in the air by one of the walls. She pulled herself up and looked out of the narrow space.

It seemed as though the corvid was interested in a piece of rusty old metal that stuck out of the wall. It cawed, looking at her before trying to pull the metal away with it's claws. She sighed again, reaching out with her hand for it. It was crazy thing to do, a silly thing to do, helping a goddamn bird! But, as she noted before, she had nothing better to do. She had nothing at ALL to do!

Two pulls was all it took to get it out. She looked at the object, apparently a nail of some sort. She tore her gaze away from it and back to the raven, but the bird has disappeared. She groaned, a displeased expression on her face. Great, she'd done it all for nothing, the stupid thing left her! She was about to throw the nail away, but something stopped her. She took a closer look at it; it was old and rusty, yes, but it was also sharp at the end.

In almost the same moment she remembered Pyrrha's story, about trying to reach General Ironwood, only to be captured and imprisoned, and a plan stated to form itself in her head. She could attempt to try and get to the stronghold too, and this nail could help her! She could try and open the door with it, escape! Her chances were small, but they were there.

But before she could get any further with the planning she heard a loud bang, and Roman Torchwick's voice shouting something to the guards. Her heart skipped a beat. Roman hadn't visited the tower for a long time, and the fact that he did now meant something really bad was afoot.

She looked back at her nail; she couldn't let anyone see it! Thinking quickly, she threw herself on her bed, hiding her "key" under the pillow. She then closed her eyes and evened out her breathing, trying her best to look as if she was peacefully asleep. All the time though, she was vigilant and ready to act. She heard footsteps closing in, and then stop before her cell. She heard the door get unlocked, and Roman approaching her bed. She observed him from under her lashes.

"Get up, Snow Angel!" he said, "Your queen wants to see you."

She shuddered at the words, her eyes snapping open.

"What does she want from me?" she asked, not quite succeeding at banishing the tremor from her voice. There was a silence for a while, but then Roman smiled, causing her to once more shiver with fear. Oh, would she rather take his silence than this smile!

"Your beating heart," he answered. As if on a cue, her heart started to beat faster as panic overtook her. Roman bent over, reaching out to grab her, and in that instant the adrenaline kicked in. Winter whipped the nail out and slashed the red haired man; she didn't even wait for his scream to end as she rushed out of the still opened door, quickly shutting it behind her. She turned around and was about to speed off when she remembered Pyrrha. If Torchwick was back, then just maybe... She quickly jumped to the door of the girl's cell.

"Pyrrha!" she cried. She heard shuffling, and then a haggard, miserable figure got up, turning to her.

Nothing in the world could have adequately prepare Winter for what she saw.

Instead of the young, smooth face and lively green eyes she remembered, she was met with an ashen gray countenance, sunken cheeks that looked more like it belonged to an old corpse than a living being, and big, emerald eyes that lost all their spark, becoming dulled and foggy. Winter could not help but gasp. She opened her mouth to ask the question that had been rattling around her mind, only for Pyrrha to cut her off

"No time!" she cried, "Run, Princess, run! Don't waste your time on me! I will be fine; get to General Ironwood!"

At first Winter wanted to protest, but one look at the red-headed woman told her that it was futile; she could hear Roman banging on the cell door and shouting for the guards. Pyrrha was right, it would do neither of them any good if she got recaptured and put back in her cell.

Or worse, killed.

"I will come back and get you out. I swear!" she promised, before speeding off.

She ran down the stairs and burst through the door to, finally outside after so long. She looked around, still high from her escape, for any guards. There weren't any yet, but she was sure they would soon be after her.

And she was not wrong. Soon she had a couple of masked men appeared from around the corner, shouting and pointing at her. She looked around, and while doing so she caught the eye of an elderly man with thick moustache being herded towards the tower. She noticed his eyes grow wide, and she felt a spark of recognition flicker in her own heart, but it soon died out. She had no time for things like that, she had to get out! She scanned the area once more in search of a way to escape and she saw the raven again- though she didn't know if it was the same one as before. It circled her head before landing by a spot by the wall. At first she couldn't understand, but when she looked closer she saw there was a small hole in the ground, just large enough for her to slip through. She immediately made a run for it, crawling through it as fast as she could.

She suddenly rolled down a small slope, before hitting a hard stone floor. She sighed and got up, dusting herself off before looking around; it seemed like she found herself in some sort of underground passage. She looked back at the small hole, and could hear her pursuers shouting orders to find her from above. She then looked ahead. She could feel a fresh breeze on her face. There was another exit there, very likely to her freedom!

And there isn't anywhere else I can go, she told herself as she set off.

She didn't know how long she walked- it could have been just couple of minutes, it could have been an hour- but at some point she finally saw a dim light in front of her. Her heart skipped a beat and she sped up a bit, almost running now.

And finally, she made it out.

At first she couldn't tell where she was, the light of the day blinding her a bit after her time in the passage, but before long her eyes readjusted and she could scan her surroundings. It turned out she really had left the tower, and found herself at the edge of a forest. It wasn't a pleasant sight, all the trees were dark and grim looking, their branches bare, but that could be because it was still very early spring. Regardless, she had no time to ponder over the change of seasons, since she suddenly heard dogs and the shouting of the guards again. Once more, having no other choice, she ran ahead, disappearing into the forest.

* * *

Roman was speeding ahead with some of his guards, shouting at them and barking out angry orders. He rode on until he reached the Grimm Forest (or Patch Forest, as it had been known in the past). His horse halted at the very edge, letting out a whinny and a huff and stomping the ground, refusing to go any further. He looked behind him; all of the men he'd taken with him were standing a long distance away, looking nervously between one another.

"...well, what are you waiting for?" he called to them "Get after her, you useless twats!"

"Sir?" one of them said "This is the Grimm Forest, no one in their right mind would venture there; this place is crawling with all sorts of Creatures of Grimm, many of them very old. ...look, even the dogs are refusing to move!"

Roman looked down, and indeed all the hounds he has brought with him were keeping their distance, running in circles with their tails between their legs and whimpering pitifully. He gritted his teeth.

"Her Majesty will kill us," he said, looking back at the forest.

"So will the Grimm," said another one of the guards, "especially considering none of us here knows the forest; no one has been there for years, I don't think we'll be able to find the girl anymore, sir."

Roman had half a mind to argue, but held his tongue. He knew that the soldier was right. If they were to venture in there they would have gotten lost and eaten by the Grimm, and they would have failed in their attempt to bring Winter back to Cinder.

"Alright," he said eventually, "let's go back."

And with that he turned his horse around. He heard his men sigh with relief, but he himself was far from it, knowing full well that Cinder wouldn't like it. He gritted his teeth. He wasn't going to die, not yet, he had too much to lose! He needed to think of something...but what? He doubted that even Adam's White Fang troops would want to go into that forest. Not that Taurus would even consider sending them there to rectify Roman's mistakes... The red haired man looked up into the sky. Only a madman or someone with a death wish would go into that forest.

Or a Huntsman...

The last thought hit him like a ton of bricks. A Huntsman. There weren't many left, but there was one that he had certainly heard was still alive. And the man fit the other two descriptions as well! Roman smiled. Maybe his day wasn't as awful after all...?

* * *

 **FINISHED. Jesus, Mary and Joseph! How long it was! You people have NO idea how long it's taken for me to finish this chapter. I've been turning it around in my mind, trying to fit the places in the movie and in RWBY and make them match. I have finally decided to put Winter in Signal. Yes, I know Beacon would most likely be better, but they still have to go to Magical Sanctuary, which would be The Vault (thank you Cinder Fall btw) and then they have to go and battle Cinder and it would be a little too many comebacks to the same place. Winter would escape Beacon, then she would travel a bit, and then she would be led to the Vault under Beacon, and then leave it again, and then back again. As you see, it's a bit too many returns. So Signal it is! Also, I think the forest around Signal is rather dangerous place, there are Grimm there (Yang and Ruby got attacked by them) and with Cinder in power, the Grimm would be rampant there. But enough with my excuses. I hope y'all liked this (if you did, please tell me in reviews below). Next chapter will feature our favourite drunken asshole: Qrow Branwen. Stay tuned!**

 **Edit: Thanks to Layman who helped me out with the story, and edited it a bit, smoothing some things out.**

Editor's Note: Hey there, Layman here! I'll be helping Miss Vale out with this story, cleaning things up and making it look all pretty! I haven't actually seen the Snow White & The Huntsman movie this story takes inspiration from, but I know RWBY, and I think the premise is solid. Plus, I can totally get behind the Winter/Qrow ship. (It's crack, but it sort of makes sense.) Like Miss Vale said, stay tuned for drunken antics with Qrow!


	2. The Huntsman

Of the few true heroes left in the world, Qrow Branwen most certainly wasn't one of them. Many would say he wasn't even a good man; he was bitter, disillusioned, jaded, and he spent most of his time either drinking at an inn or at his house. On rare occasions he would go on little outings into the Grimm Forest and kill some Grimm, one of the few remaining things besides drinking he found any pleasure in. Slaughtering those monsters made him feel alive, like he was still worth something.

Or, perhaps he was just looking for a way to get himself killed. After all, what he'd been through would have robbed many of their wills to live. He'd lost everything: his friends, his sister, his little nieces, his world, his renown as a Huntsman, his brothers in arms...everything.

He downed his mug of beer again, emptying it almost at once, before slamming it down on the wooden counter.

"'nuther one!" he demanded from the Innkeeper. The man looked at him dubiously.

"Not a chance, Qrow," he said, "you're drunk. Get your things and go home."

Qrow gave him a pointed look in return and a bitter smile appeared on his lips. He almost laughed out loud.

"Home? I ain' got a home no more...," he said, tapping the rim of his mug, "Now pour me anuther."

Before the innkeeper could say anything else a group of men came in, led by a tall, muscular brunet with blue eyes.

"Well, well, well!" said the man, "If it isn't the great Qrow Branwen! Drinking your guilt away, are you?"

Qrow clenched his fists, feeling anger boil inside his heart. Aidan Winchester has always been a pain in the ass, and a truly horrible man at that. If there was one good thing Qrow could claim about himself, it was that he wasn't Aidan Winchester.

"Leave him alone, Aidan," said the innkeeper slowly.

Aidan ignored these words, just as he ignored Qrow's more and more visible anger.

"They really were pretty girls, your nieces," continued the man , "it's a shame you weren't man enough to save them. I've already told this to Taiyang long ago, you know? Before he went off I've told him, 'Leave your children with me, instead of your brother-in-law'. He didn't believe me, he said you'd protect those girls with your life, that he can trust you. And look at you now! Oh, how wrong he had be-"

That was the last straw. Even a sober Qrow would never have taken such words kindly, and now his anger- fuelled both by guilt and alcohol- burst with a strength of a wildfire. He stood up, his red eyes burning, and threw himself at Aidan, punching the man before grabbing him and throwing him into the nearby table. There was a loud thump as the table broke, and the mugs and dishes there falling down and shattering upon the wooden floor.

At first Aidan was shocked by the sudden attack, but he quickly recovered, getting shakily to his feet. Qrow smirked a little at this, slicking back his graying black hair, and beckoned his opponent to attack. Aidan did need to be told twice and lunged at the red eyed man. However, Qrow had been one of the best Huntsmen, and his occasional visits to the forest kept him more than sharp enough to handle the normally lax guardsman. He dogged the attack, causing Aidan to fall over and trip into another table. The brunet got up and charged once more, roaring like a wounded beast. The fight resumed. They exchanged blows and kicks until at some point Aiden got thrown out into the street, with Qrow following in close pursuit. They engaged in a fight again, only this time it was a bit sloppier, with both of them slipping, rolling, and getting mud and all other kids of grime on their clothing. Their scuffle also attracted quite a large number of on-lookers. However, nobody tried to stop the fight, none foolish or daring enough to get between the two violent and combat trained men.

"All right boys, playtime's over!" said a sudden, smooth voice, and Qrow felt a pair of strong arms grab him by the shoulders, lifting him up.

The next thing he knew, he was thrown headfirst into a nearby trough filled with the water for horses. He stayed there, held down for a while by two strong pairs of arms, until they finally allowed him to resurface. He blinked, whipping his face and spitting the water out before looking around. He was surrounded by a squad of the Queen's men, and presently, they were the only people in front of the inn. He glanced over the masked faces of each of four men before settling his eyes on their leader. He instantly recognized Roman Torchwick, the Queen's famed lapdog.

"The Queen requires your presence," said the redhead, leaning on his sword and giving Qrow a disdainful look.

The Huntsman only smirked in return. "Can't ya see I'm havin' a bath?" he asked.

Torchwick only glared and made a swift gesture with his hand. The four men immediately seized Qrow again and pulled him out of the water, dragging him along. He went along with them, knowing he couldn't fight them all alone; there were four of them, they all were armed, and to be quite honest, he was a little curious as to what exactly the Queen wanted with him.

* * *

Mercury leaned over Cinder, who was sitting on the black ebony throne.

"Roman is here, my Queen," he whispered, "and he brought the Huntsman."

The woman nodded without a word and the silver haired man turned, waving his hand at the guardsmen. In a second the door opened and Qrow was showed in. Surprisingly, he showed no fear. Quite the contrary, he seemed to be slightly amused by everything. Mercury glanced discreetly at Cinder, wondering how she would take it; he knew she didn't take disobedience and lack of respect well, but the woman showed no emotion, simply tapping her finger on the arm of her throne.

"Roman has told me you are a former Huntsman," she said, "a drunkard who dares to venture into the Grimm Forest and return alive."

Qrow's brow furrowed at the words, and a shadow of suspicion appeared in his eyes. He said nothing, however. It was not expected of him, and it seemed as though the Queen wanted to continue talking.

"Now I have a prisoner who escaped their-" she informed, her words cut short when the black-haired man snorted.

"He's dead" he said. He knew the forest too well. Some of the Grimm that lived there would have been a challenge even for the seasoned Huntsmen of old, never mind a regular citizen unlucky enough to get lost in there.

"'She" Cinder corrected him. Qrow raised an eyebrow before letting out a huff of laughter.

"She is _certainly_ dead" he repeated, putting emphasis on the third word. This was getting even more ridiculous, did the Queen really think being a woman changed anything for the Grimm? It seemed so, for Cinder glanced briefly at Mercury and Roman before turning her golden eyes back to the Huntsman.

"Bring her back to me," she said, "alive. Do that, and you'll be handsomely rewarded."

Qrow's brow furrowed even more now. There was something off about the way the Queen just cared so much about a prisoner. Weren't they supposed to die anyway? Besides, there wasn't anyone around anymore with whom she could trade. And he knew that when it came to disappearing girls she could easily find herself another one, for whatever her twisted purpose was with them.

"Why's she of such value?" he asked

"That is none of your concern," she informed him, "All you need to worry about is whether the girl is still alive or not."

"Well, isn't it nice of you to care about what concerns me, thank you!" he laughed in response.

That seemed to have done it, because for the first time since he came in, the Queen lost her patience and her mask slipped, her golden eyes filled with literal fire.

"You will do it for me, Huntsman!" she shouted, rising in her seat.

He only smirked.

"And if I refuse?" he questioned. He couldn't help it, he had always been drawn to challenge and danger, sometimes foolishly so.

Cinder snapped her fingers and instantly the guards moved to point their weapons at him. He let out a bitter chuckle. Did she really think he valued his life so much after all he had lost, that the world had anything left to offer him, and that he wouldn't wish to leave it? If so, then she was mistaken, and he'd be glad to correct her.

"Do me a favour, I beg of you!" he barked. Cinder cocked her head to the side, obviously interested by this turn of events.

"...Bring him to his knees," she ordered, sitting back down. Instantly he was pushed down, a sword pressed to his throat. Cinder shifted in her seat and leaned forward. "You miss your family," she said, "you miss your nieces and you wish to be reunited with them."

This surprised Qrow, and for a moment his eyes winded. 'How the hell did she know about Taiyang's girls?'

"What would you do to see them again?" continued the woman, "Surely you've heard tell of my powers; bring me the girl, and I will bring your beloved nieces back to you."

His heat skipped a beat, but he reminded himself that the Queen was evil. Powerful, yes, but evil and treacherous. And no one had power to raise the dead, he was absolutely sure of that!

"Nothing can bring them back," he stated, shaking his head sorrowfully,

"Oh, but I can!" answered Cinder with conviction. "Simply bring my prisoner back to me. It's one life for two, a fair deal in any circle."

Qrow once more looked into the woman's eyes, but no matter how hard he tried he could not see any deception in them. And then there was his own heart, telling him he had nothing to loose by accepting this deal. Only his life, and that wasn't worth very much anymore, was it?

And yet...he just wanted so much to see Ruby and Yang again!

There was an old saying that went 'a drowning man clutches at straws', and he was very much a drowning man.

* * *

 **Author's Note: OK, I'll leave it here for now. The next chapter we'll have the meeting. I've also decided to split the role of Finn between Roman and Mercury. Once more thanks to The Layman the help**

Editor's Note: And that's chapter two, folks! I had a lot of fun with this one, spicing up Qrow's dialogue; I'd always imagined him as a smart ass, even before he was revealed in Volume 3. (One of the many things I ended up accurately guessing.) But enough about me, apparently Snow White and the Hunstman [read: drunken has been] finally meet up next chapter, How will that go? I don't know, I didn't watch the movie, remember?


	3. Loyalties and Alliances

The cold rays of the early spring sun fell on the Grimm Forest, and on the lonely figure who lay there who lay there after running throughout the night.

Winter blinked few times and opened her eyes before groaning heavily and rising up from the mud. At first she did not know where she was, but she soon remembered; she had fled into the Grimm Forest to escape from the Queen's forces! However, her relief did not last her long as she soon heard a loud shout coming from somewhere deep within the forest. Her eyes winded; they were still looking for her! She spun to her right and broke into a run, navigating between the blackened trees and jumping over fallen logs and protruding roots. She never glanced back, too afraid to do so, but at the same time she kept looking for a place to hide.

And soon enough, she spotted one. There was an old, almost uprooted tree before her, with a tangle of roots and branches. She ducked into it, holding her breath and watching. The seconds like hours as they ticked by, but soon enough she saw someone enter the scene. It was a man, tall, with spiky black hair. He was dressed in a gray jerkin with black patches on the side, black pants and a tattered red coat, and wore a huge sword on his back. He looked nothing like the Queen's men, but she was still cautious. She did not stir, hoping that the man would leave, however Lady Luck was not on her side as the man turned and looked directly at her, locking eyes. She gasped a little; his red eyes were sharp, like none she had seen before. They were the eyes of a predator, someone who never misses his prey, and her assessment was proven correct as the man jumped forward and grabbed her hand, dragging her from her hiding place. She tried to resist and even break free but his grip was strong, and she stumbled a little when he pulled her, leading her back out of the wood.

It looked like her small taste of freedom had come to an end.

* * *

Qrow finally found the girl, not that she was difficult to find in the first place; between her light coloured clothes and her white hair she stood out against the ebony wood like a fresh snow. He pulled her out of her hiding place and found himself staring into her eyes. They were cold and hard like ice in the harshest of winter, filled with pride that belied her otherwise haggard appearance.

This caught him slightly him of guard. She was the Queen's prisoner after all, and probably had been for quite some time, yet she still had an air of pride and confidence around her. Astounding! In a way, she reminded him of both his sister and Summer...

"You've done your job well, Huntsman, I'm impressed!" His musings were interrupted by Roman's voice. The girl has noticed the man too, and renewed her attempts to free herself. "Now, hand her over."

Qrow glanced back at the girl and she shook her head. Then he looked at Roman, and reached for his sword.

"What exactly do you intend to do with her?" He didn't know why he asked this question, it was none of his business after all. Maybe it was the strange look in the girl's eye, maybe it was this nagging distrust for the Queen in the back of his mind, maybe it was the way she somehow reminded him of the old days when he still had everything. Or maybe it was because deep down he was still a Huntsman, and Huntsmen were protectors of the world, independent from any rule. Whatever the reason, he refused to give the girl up, at least for the moment.

"That is none of your concern!" said Roman, "Now keep your word."

"She will kill me! And you too and then everyone!" cried the girl in his arms. Her voice was filled with anger and steel confidence; he could _FEEL_ her aura levels rising.

"I will keep my word when the Queen keeps hers", he told the Commander in a steely tone, "so show me Ruby and Yang first."

"She is going to betray you!" cried his hostage.

Upon hearing these words the small voice in the back of Qrow's head grew louder and his buried doubts resurfaced.

"Show me Ruby and Yang first!" he repeated.

Roman's lips curved into a smile.

"Queen Cinder has many powers; she can take life away, she can control fire, but even she can't bring your girls back from dead, you drunken fool!" he said, practically spitting the last words.

That was the final straw. Qrow's eyes hardened as he let go of the girl, leaping forward with sword in hand. He swung at Roman's men, easily cutting them down. He was on a roll, anger ruled him now.

They tricked him! He should have expected it, and in the back of his mind he did, but still...giving someone hope and then taking it away would make anyone dangerous, and Qrow had been a dangerous man already. He dodged one of the Guards trying to block him when he suddenly felt a new yet familiar aura nearby. He saw some movement in the corner of his eye, and astonishment washed over him when he turned around and saw the girl fighting the other guard with a sword she must have gotten hold of at some point. He had to admit, she was good at it. It was clear that she had been trained.

He did not have time to admire her skills however, as he had his own opponents to take care off. Not that they were much of a challenge, and it was not long until they all laid on the ground, either knocked out or slain. There was no sign Roman anymore, having probably fled during the commotion. Qrow sighed deeply and put his sword aside, panting as his anger considerably subsided. He then turned around to check on the girl, old Huntsman instincts that refused to die.

However, the moment that happened he found himself with a sword pointed at his throat. He looked up from it, and at the young woman holding it; her eyes were cold and her brow furrowed. He had to say, even with wild, dishevelled hair, the few scrapes on cheeks, dirty clothes, and despite the fact that she was holding a sword on him...she actually looked quite pretty. He smirked.

"So," he asked, "what does the Queen want from ya?"

"I should be asking you that, since you're the one hunting me!" she answered, slightly offended.

He shrugged. "No clue, I was just ordered to bring ya to her. But that deal is up, so if you would be so kind as to get that sword away from me, I'd be grateful."

There was a long silence but finally she did step back, putting the blade aside, her hands remaining on the hilt though. 'Smart girl', he thought. He said nothing to that however and turned around, heading towards the edge of the woods. He didn't go far when he heard sound of someone running. He turned and saw the girl approach him.

"Wait!" she called after him. "Wait a minute," she said, pausing for a while to catch her breath, "...You're a Huntsman, right? And you know these woods?"

"Huntsmen don't exist anymore, _kid_ ," he said bluntly without breaking stride.

"But you do know the woods?" she pressed, walking alongside him.

He nodded. "Well enough."

"I...I have a proposition for you," she said. "I'm trying to get to General Ironwood."

Qrow froze at the mention of the name. It reminded him of the distant, much simpler times when he was still a Huntsman. Of times when there still were schools and when the Kingdoms were free, times when he would squabble with the General and send him glares or laugh at the man for his over the top ways. Now though, it seemed like it all happened in another lifetime.

His companion noticed his silence, and seemed to have taken it for reluctance to answer as she spoke up again.

"You've seen how the Queen hunts me," she said, "I'm valuable; the General will pay you for my safe return."

He blinked a few times, woken form his musings and turned his eyes back to her. He studied her for a moment, pondering over her request. He wasn't a very helpful person, not anymore, and he really didn't feel like getting even further into some sort of sick trouble. Then again, what did he have to lose? The answer was nothing; his life was pretty much gone for years, and now that the Queen turned out to be a lying wench, and that he killed her men, there was really no reason for him to return home. He didn't know this girl, nor he did he really care about her, but he couldn't deny there was certain appeal to helping her. For one it was a challenge, and he loved those. Secondly there was a _thrill_ to it all, of travelling again, of protecting someone. Like in good old days when he was one of _the best_. And there was ever something to gain it it too in the form of compensation.

"Just for the sake of argument, let's say I accept your offer," he said; he had to keep an appearance, that was what she expected of him, "how much will it be?"

"How much will be enough?" she countered.

He thought for a moment. "...Thirty golden pieces," he answered.

"I'll give you a hundred!" she said, completely stunning him. For a second he stood there surprised by such a generous offer.

'Who is she?' came to his mind. Then he composed himself and spit into his hand before extending it to her.

"You got yourself a deal," he said. "And by the way, the name's Qrow."

* * *

Winter hesitated for a while, regarding the man before her. He had introduced himself and was expecting same of her. It was fair enough, she guessed; after all, it would be simply ridiculous if they only called each other girl and Huntsman all the way...but the thing was she didn't trust him enough to tell him who she was. She didn't necessarily think he'd betray her to the Queen, since he seemed to hate the woman and only went along before she promised to bring Ruby and Yang, whoever they were, back from the dead.

But who was to say he wouldn't abandon her if he knew she was a Schnee? For now he thought she's just a special but ordinary girl, but if he were to discover just who exactly she is then he might think that a hundred golden pieces isn't enough. Or he might just hate her family altogether; she was more than aware that her father was greatly disliked in all four Kingdoms.

After a while, however, she realized he is still waiting for her reply. She took a deep breath and grasped his hand, finally opting on giving him her first name. (She couldn't be the only Winter around, colour naming was a rule in Remnant, and the story of the Four Maidens was a beloved tale of both the nobility and common folk.)

"My name is Winter," she said, "can we go now?"

As Qrow gave her a nod he turned around and headed off. She quickly followed after him.

* * *

General Ironwood sighed deeply, as he watched the purple leafed trees of Forever Fall Forest, on the edge of which he had been living. It had been a tough twelve years, since he came to Vale. He'd sent countless men to try and get to Queen Cinder and stop her, but none had yet been successful. The only messages he'd ever received was of the Grimm and poverty and of disappearing girls. The worst thing was that these stories slowly ceased to shock him; they just became an everyday occurrence, a normality. He shook his head. Was there anything to shock him anymore?

And in that moment, as if in answer to his question, someone shouted his name. He turned around and saw one of the Falcon Trainers, Scarlet David, running to him with a piece of paper in hand.

"General!" shouted Scarlet, "There are news from Peter Port!"

Ironwood stiffened but otherwise remained unaffected. He let the soldier catch up with him and took the letter from him, reading it swiftly. The first part told about the failed attempt and capture. The General let out a sad sigh, nothing new. As he read further his expression begun to change, plainly showing the emotions he felt. He passed the letter to the soldier.

"Read," he said.

"But-" stuttered the man.

"Read it!" demanded the general. The soldier looked at him with slight fear but obediently begun to read.

"'General, the attempt has failed-'"

"Not this part, start with Jaune," interrupted Ironwood. Scarlet sighed.

"'... _Jaune attacked the Queen, despite my warnings. He stabbed her and then...she pulled the dagger out! Right out! And then she just tossed it away as if it were nothing! She cannot be killed, General!'_ "

Scarlet swallowed at the words, but read further as he felt the demanding gaze of his commander on him.

"' _They let me go so I could send you this message and I was going to do it right away, but something occurred in this time that I must inform you about. General, Princess Winter is alive! I have seen her with my own eyes, as she made her escape from the castle. She was taller and looked malnourished but it was most definitely her. I have stayed longer and found out that she escaped to the Grimm Forest. The Queen has sent her men after her, but they haven't been able to bring her back. I have heard from some people that Qrow has disappeared as well, and he is probably with her. I shall stay here to find out more._

 _Signed, Peter Port.'_ "

Scarlet stopped reading and looked at the General. The man was pacing back and forth.

"Prepare your men," he said, "we shall be leaving soon."

Weiss let out a soft breath, resting her back against the tree she'd been hiding behind. Winter was alive, her older sister was alright and escaped the clutches of the Queen! The young girl sank down, sitting on the cold ground. She could scarcely believe it! She wanted to see Winter so much, and was about to go to the General and ask for permission to join the rescue party but stopped in mid step. No, she couldn't wait God knows how long for the party to be formed and for the men to leave. She had to go and search for Winter herself, and she already knew how.

She'd been practising her summoning for years now, determined to surpass everyone and get her revenge on the Queen for her destroyed home and slaughtered loved ones, and now came the time to try it out. She peered out from her hiding place to check if the General and Scarlet were still there, and satisfied with the empty clearing, she pulled out her sword. She concentrated with all her will, thinking hard about the right Grimm to summon, and after a while a blue light flashed before her as a Nevermore appeared. It let out a small shriek but she hushed it with a move of her hand before getting on it's back.

"Take me to my sister," she said, "take me to Patch."

The creature let out a soft shriek before taking off into the air.

* * *

 **Uff, I've finally reached the end! Sorry for delay folks, but to write it I needed to rewatch the movie + not everything in the movie exactly fits with the canon here i.e in the movie everything happens in one kingdom so I had to juggle with geography of Remnant here to fit it to how RWBY verse looks like. Also, Winter is a bit different from Snow in the movie so I had to incorporate that too. I'll add some other scenes later on that were missing from the movie(imo) in order for proper pacing and relationships development.**

* * *

Editor's Note: And chapter 3 is in the can! This one was fun to work on, and also to read, since it reintroduces a couple characters from back in chapter 1. I still haven't seen the movie yet, though hopefully that will be remedied by the time Miss Vale completes chapter 4, so we'll see you all then!


	4. By fairest blood it is done

Winter followed Qrow in complete silence as they made their way through the Grimm Forest. Ever since they introduced themselves and struck a deal to find General Ironwood they'd hardly spoken a single word to each other, and while she would have been perfectly fine with that in most cases, this time it was making her uncomfortable. There was something about this man, an almost palpable sense of bitterness and lingering sadness, like he has lost his soul and heart...as though life had nothing left to offer him anymore except misery.

Lost in her thoughts, she had failed to notice the sharp, thorny bush in her path and walked right into it, her dress catching on the thorns. She mumbled a curse under her breath as she tugged at the material, trying to free herself. Her companion must have noticed her predicament because he stopped, letting out a loud sigh of exasperation as he turned around. He walked up to her, and reached for her sword. She made an attempt to stop him, but he easily pushed her hand away and simply cut her dress off right above her knees, leaving her only in her boots and tights. Then he returned her sword to her.

"Ya should watch where you're going," he advised in a rather brusque manner, pulling out a flask and taking a sip.

"...Are you drinking your sorrows away?" she asked, her previous observations about the Huntsman making their way to the forefront of her mind.

Her words seemed to have struck some cord with him, because Qrow paused rather abruptly and glared at her. For a moment his eyes betrayed him, showing off sadness and regret, but he quickly pulled himself together and his expression once more became one of apathetic annoyance.

"And what's it to you?" he spat out, taking another deep sip, "It ain't any of your business how I deal with my 'sorrows.'

She backed away, her own eyes turning hard and narrowing at him, her Schnee pride hurt by such an answer. At first she had half a mind to tell him that she just asked a question, but she stopped herself; she didn't want him to leave her alone in these woods, and she was pretty sure he would just storm off if she said anything, so she simply took a deep breath and walked past him, without a single word.

* * *

Cinder was restlessly pacing back and forth in front of her mirror, furious and anxious, but mostly furious; Winter had escaped her yet again, and this time it seemed with much better chances of remaining that way because that drunkard Qrow was with her!

'I should have known...,' thought the queen, 'I should have know that he would betray me! '

She grit her teeth and clenched her fists, stopping after a while. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath in an attempt to regain her composure.

* * *

 _She walked through the dark woods, tugging at her modest dress and looking around nervously. She had been told that The Witch lived somewhere around here, and she hoped to find the woman soon; the night was neigh and Grimm would soon be out to prowl, and she did_ _ **NOT**_ _want to meet those vile creatures. She sped up a little bit, only making it a few meters further when it suddenly appeared before her; a large Ursa! She let out a scream and backed away. The Grimm growled and approached her, sniffing; she stood there, still and silent, watching it with fear in her eyes when it suddenly stopped and backed away, growling. She blinked and relaxed a bit, and then...her eyes suddenly meet a pair of vibrant crimson ones._

 _"Who are you?" asked the eyes' owner in a smooth voice that sent chills down her spine. And the fact that the woman before her was deathly pale, with black eye whites and black, vein like markings on her skin didn't help ease her nerves at all. "What are you doing here?"_

 _She composed herself, however, before she answered the pale woman. "My name is Cinder, Cinder Fall" she said, "and I'm looking for the Witch Salem. I...assume you are her?"_

 _The woman measured her in silence before nodding._

 _"I am she. Why are you looking for me?"_

 _"I wish to know my fate," she answered, fighting to keep her voice from shaking._

 _Salem was silent for a while before turning around and bidding the young woman "...Follow me."_

 _And she did. They walked for a long while amongst the dark forest, during which time she stole a closer look at the witch. Salem was rather tall, with white hair tied in a bun, on top of which there was a black-and-white feather. Her clothes were all black, with the exception of the golden image on the cape._

 _"We're here." She was brought to the reality by her guide's voice. She blinked and looked around; they were in front of some sort of cave. They entered. The chamber was rather small and dark, as was lit only by purple crystals. In the very middle was a lake filled with still, black water._

 _"Sit down," Salem commanded and Cinder obeyed, taking a seat on the ground. The white haired woman reached out and took a ceramic bowl from a rough, wooden shelf, dipping it into the murky waters before taking Cinder's hand and cutting it with her nails. The blood dropped into the bowl, and Salem stir it._

 _"This I have to say to you, Cinder," she said, looking up from the bowl, "you will be strong and feared, and great power will be yours, such that even the Grimm will bow to you. But remember, only by purest power and fairest blood it is done, and only by purest and fairest it is undone."_

* * *

Cinder's eyes snapped open, banishing the memories chose to visit her. She looked down at the scar on her hand, the only scar she'd ever received...and her golden eyes filled with fire.

"I have to get that girl...!" she growled, yelling "ROMAAAN!" to summon the commander of her Guard. The man appeared even before she could finish her scream. "Take your men, find me the girl, and bring me her heart!"

"But, Your Majesty, the people fear-" started the redhead.

"I DON'T CARE!" she screamed, "Find men who won't be afraid, or find some way to know where she's gone and make them go straight there if you have to! I don't care how you do it, just bring her to me, OR I'LL BURN THAT MUTE PET OF YOURS AND HAVE YOU WATCH BEFORE I BURN YOU AS WELL! And the same goes for your men; tell them that if they defy me, I will burn their houses and slaughter their families, and then send them off in chains after the Princess anyway! I don't care how you do it, just gather me a search party, AND FIND THAT GIRL!"

The man didn't answer at first, but eventually acquiesced with a nod. "It shall be done, my Queen!" he said before slinking around the corner.

After he left Cinder took a deep breath and threw a fire ball at the window, causing it to shatter.

"For your sake, it better!..."

* * *

 **This is incredibly short, but I really didn't know how to tackle this part of the story and this seems to be a** **good point to end. Yes, Salem is here as a witch on the bogs. I based her and her scene on couple of things**

 **-The witches from The Witcher 3 and Macbeth**

 **-The song Topielica(Drowned Girl) by Leśne Licho**

 **-Obv the scene in the movie**

 **-Horpyna a witch from Polish book With Fire and Sword.**

 **Thanks to Layman for the editing**

 **Editor's note: Good new, everyone! I finally watched the Snow White and the Huntsman movie! (To briefly sum up my thoughts, it was a pretty to look at, but horribly uneven pacing and a bland lead actress brought it down.) Now that I have a better idea of what's supposed to happen in the story, I can hopefully do a better editing job for Miss Vale. Speaking of which, I like how she used Salem here, as harbinger of destiny not allied with anyone but herself. (And the Shakespeare buff within me likes it too.) It's a nice touch.**


	5. Out of the Woods

Weiss looked around the village she'd found herself in and wrinkled her nose. It was dirty, muddy and poor, and she could tell that a lot more money went OUT of it than came in. Then again, Queen Cinder was a ruthless, heartless dictator who cared only for herself and nothing for the people under her rule. The young Schnee sighed deeply, shaking her head. She wanted to do something about it, wanted to march right up to Queen Cinder and skewer her right threw her wicked heart, but she was on a mission to find her long lost sister's whereabouts, and that was the more realisable goal at the moment.

But first, she needed a disguise; it wouldn't do to wander around in her normal attire, especially with all the Queen's guards around, and after few minutes of searching she finally found the seamstress's shop. She walked in and a tiny bell hung over the door rang, causing an elderly woman at the counter raised her head.

"Yes? Oh, hello young Miss," she greeted politely, "What can I do for you?"

"Do you have any cloaks or hooded capes? Or even a sturdy coat with a high collar?" Weiss asked, "You see, I'm going to be travelling quite far and I need something to shield me from the rain and the cold nights. It's still early spring after all, and frosts are common"

The woman eyed her curiously but said nothing, nodding and bending over an open trunk.

"Here, Miss," she said, taking out a dark gray cloak and holding it out to young princess. Weiss sent her a small smile before reaching into her pocket and pulling out few golden coins. She always carried some with her as she felt that the folds of her dress was the safest place for what she had. Needless to say, the dressmaker's eyes widened and she begun thanking Weiss profusely, who politely waved the praise off before donning the cloak and walking out, saying her goodbyes. She walked outside and at once something down the road caught her eye.

A group of men were standing under an archway that connected two houses that lead further into the village, and standing before them was a red haired man wearing a white cloak. Her eyes winded; it was Roman Torchwick, the Queen's General! She'd never seen him in the flesh before, but she had seen his likeness amongst the papers in General Ironwood's headquarters. It didn't take her long to deduce the purpose of his presence here and addressing these people; it must have had to do with her sister!

'This might be my best chance of finding something more,' she thought, 'and of getting to Winter!'

With that thought in mind she crept towards the group, hiding behind one of the archway's walls.

"We'll be going into the Grimm Forest," Torchwick addressed the crowd, "and we are looking for two fugitives: a young woman with white hair and blue eyes, and a washed up has been named Qrow Branwen. If any of you fail me or try to warn them of our pursuit or otherwise betray us, the wrath of the Queen will fall upon you and all your families. You will watch your children and your wives perish in before you join them; do you understand?"

The men reluctantly agreed, the suppressed anger plain in their voices. Weiss gasped from her hiding place, feeling both anger and fear. There were two types of dangerous men: those who had nothing to loose, and those who had everything to loose, and all these men belonged to the second category. Everything they loved was at stake, and even if they hated the Queen they would help Torchwick and apprehend Winter for the sake of their loved ones. She was outraged by the Queen's methods of gathering troops, but she was also scared for Winter and the man who was helping her.

However, soon her eyes filled with determination as she realised she was the only one who could save the two runaways!

* * *

Winter and Qrow were still making their way through the forest, and by this point the young woman was getting more than a little tired.

"When are we stopping?" she asked.

"Oh what? Has the little girl got a bit tired?" he asked mockingly.

She felt a wave of anger wash over her.

"No," she answered proudly, "I was just asking for the future. I like to have everything planned, especially as there is still a long way ahead of us. And anyway, I thought you were supposed to be a Huntsman in your past, so you should know about planning your outings, correct?"

Qrow let out a snort.

"Not really my style," he shrugged, walking further. She continued following after him at a quick pace, but her foot got caught between roots and she stumbled, a small curse escaping from her mouth.

Qrow stopped abruptly upon hearing a curse come from behind him. Well he certainly did not expect that kind of vocabulary coming out of THAT girl! He turned around and saw Winter had caught her foot on some nearby branches. She was all dirty and wet from their journey, and it was only now that he noticed just how skinny she actually was. The Queen certainly didn't overindulge when it came to feeding her prisoners, not many did. Still, it didn't stop him from feeling a pang of sympathy and guilt as the realisation hit him; this girl probably hadn't had anything to eat for days, if not longer, and yet she still managed to get away from the Queen and survive a night in the Grimm Forest, then continue running AND stand her own in a fight with a skilled guardsman! She'd been through a lot, and she had every right to be tried. His eyes softened.

"Hey, Winter!" he called to her, bringing her attention back to him, "We'll stop once we get out of this forest, OK? It's too dangerous to rest here, but we should be out before nightfall."

The girl shot him a cold look, but it seemed like she didn't have strength to glare for very long, and soon she nodded and the chill melted down a bit, giving into tiredness. He smiled a bit at that, though not in a mean way, before motioning at her to follow him.

* * *

"We can make our camp here," said the man, putting his sword down as they finally left the forest at the closing of the day. They now found themselves on a grassy plain, with scattered rocks and a lazy river running through it. Winter sighed. She knew that they were not out of danger yet; Queen Cinder would not stop until she was caught, she was well aware of that. Still, she was glad to finally be out of the forest. She was starting to go mad from being surrounded by all the mud and thorns and naked trees constantly!

"Hey, Winter?" She was woken from her reverie by Qrow. "You know how to catch a fish?"

She shook her head, never having learned that skill before. She hadn't lived by the sea, and they'd all food delivered to the castle. And later...the Attack happened and she was thrown into prison where she barely got any food. And needless to say, prison didn't allow for much time or opportunity to learn wilderness survival skills.

"Alright then," he said, seemingly a bit put off by that, "I'll do the manly thing and hunt for our food while you go gather some firewood. You at least know how to do that, right?"

"Of course I do!" she scoffed, not knowing if he was insulting her or not before turning around and marching off in a huff. As she walked away she was sure she heard him snort.

As Qrow watched Winter depart he couldn't help but let out a chuckle. He couldn't help it, she seemed so offended at his little tease! He had to admit he found it a bit endearing, really, and it made him roll his eyes at how silly it seemed, but it was a nice change, to have someone to talk with and tease a little and react to him. It made him feel alive. He paused for a second, frightened by this discovery and shook his head, heading into the water; he needed to catch that fish for dinner before the sun set completely.

* * *

Weiss moved silently between the dark trees, never taking her eyes off of Torchwick and his men. She was glad that the dressmaker has given her such a dark cloak, as it helped her to blend in perfectly with her surroundings and remain unnoticed by her targets.

"Lord Torchwick, sir," she heard one of the village men speak, "the sun will soon begin to set...we need to head back."

"Oh, absolutely not!" hissed the man, "We need to find these fugitives."

"But the Grimm, sir!" said the man, "They will be on the prowl and they will kill us all if we continue on!"

"Branwen somehow continues, do you think he comes back?" asked one of the guards on horses.

"That is true," answered the villager, "but he is a _Huntsman_ , one of the last remaining, while we are but simple peasants. We barely know how to use swords, we stand no change against the Creatures!"

"And what the Queen has in store for deserters is ten times worse then the creatures," Roman reminded the villager sternly. "We're going to look for Qrow and the girl, and we are not coming back until we find them! ...unless you don't mind having the deaths of your family on your conscience, in which case go right ahead and leave. Now keep moving!"

At first the villager seemed to want to argue, but quickly shut his mouth and returned to his task. Weiss moved on too, placing a hand on her sword, her senses even more on alert now. She had almost forgotten about the Grimm! A very dangerous thing to do in the wilderness, and a mistake she wasn't going to repeat.

* * *

Winter had finally collected enough wood to start a fire, along with some dried out plants for kindling. When she came back, Qrow was already waiting for her with four fish laying on the rock. He was drinking, of course, and smirked when he saw her.

"If you want something to drink with that," he said, pointing with his head at the fish, "your options are either water or grass, unless you want something stronger?" He jiggled his flask for emphasis.

She glared at him and shook her head

"I don't drink," she informed the Huntsman, dropping the wood down in front of him, "thank you very much."

"Thought so...," he smirked, screwing his flask up and looking down at wood. "You actually picked up good timber."

She gave him a nod of acknowledgement. "I also brought some extra to make walls for the pit," she said, "to shield the fire from people's eyes."

Qrow blinked, visibly surprised.

"Good thinking!" he said, "I wasn't going to make it very large anyway, but this would be an additional help. You actually have a strong head on those pretty shoulders of yours."

She didn't respond, deciding on ignoring his remark, and they began to set up the fire and the shield. Qrow lit it and Winter set the fish up to cook, and after a short while they sat down around it and tucked into the fish.

As they ate, Qrow watched Winter munch on her food from across the fire, and the way she greedily swallowed her bites made him think of some small, frantic animal. She must really have been hungry... and once more he felt a pang of sympathy for her.

"The Queen didn't feed ya very well, did she?" he asked, watching as the young woman nibbled meat off the bones. His companion gave him a sharp look.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she demanded.

"Oh, nothing, just asking," he said. "Really," he added more softly, offering her a gentle smile.

She still eyed him suspiciously for a while before letting out a sigh. "Enough to keep me alive," she said finally, taking another bite, "usually just some leftovers or flat bread and a cup of water."

'That must have been tough',he thought. He studied her figure and face for a while. She was young, but she was clearly not a child anymore, which made him wonder how long was she in imprisonment. "How old are you, anyway?"

"...I don't know," she replied after a second, "over twenty, I think. It's kind of difficult to keep track of time in prison, but I was only thirteen when Cinder took over."

'Thirteen...' he mused, running a quick calculation in his head. Cinder took over the Kingdom some thirteen years ago, which would mean Winter was at least twenty-six years old now, and that she'd spent half of her life in prison, starved by the Queen. And yet...she somehow kept her strength and resolve through the years, and even managed to finally get away. He had to admit, he was impressed with that; many would have given up and perished long before that. She once more reminded him of his sister and of Summer that way: they both had the spirit of a survivor -although they used it in a different way- and they both would have seized the chance to escape if they were in her place.

He turned to Winter again, wishing to ask her something more, only to find that she was already asleep where she sat, her shoulders falling up and down and her hair obscuring her face. She looked quite beautiful in the dim light of the fire, he noted, but there was something in her beauty that was different from most women he knew, something from a world far away from his own. She had an air of distance that he'd only seen in people of nobility, and in a way it made sense. The Queen could have kept a noble girl for some reason or other under lock and key, and Winter did say that she was valuable, promising him a hundred golden pieces. No peasant girl could make such offer, not even a wealthy merchant's daughter or a woman from the gentry. She had to be someone of a higher status. Then a thought occurred to him: there was a possibility that...no, it couldn't be. He shook his head, dismissing the thought; it would have been too high of an order...

He reached for his stick and aimlessly pushed the timber about.

* * *

 **I'll end it here. I'd get more but well then I would be stuck with really no ending for the chapter so I cut it off here. You get some few first more shippy moments with these two. Original Snow White and The Huntsman had some pacing problems and it seemed like a lot of scenes were cut out of it, and therefore the romance became tad bit...sporadic. So here it is, a bit of usual Qrowing (even tho it's AU so...they don't have to be as angry as in the show) banter and well as I said some softer and sweeter moments where they actually get to TALK, and open up a bit, and what better moment to do so while sitting down and eating? We also got some scenes with Weiss and her search for her sister (which is a bit of a change from source material but a needed one, because of the different weapons that Weiss and William are using and also because of their different roles)**

Editor's Note: It's been a while since the last chapter, hasn't it? But it's here now, and we get a little bit of Qrow and Winter warming up to each other, so that's something. Not to mention we see Weiss getting closer to her goal, and if I remember the movie correctly that should be happening some time in the next few chapters. Then again, I merely edit these, and I'm not privy to Miss Vale's plans for this story, so take what I say with a grain of salt.


	6. Across the Sea

"So...," Winter asked the next morning as they put down their camp, "how are we going to get to Vale?"

Qrow raised his head to her. "I know a man," he said, kicking dirt over the fire, "goes by a name of Junior. He has a few boats he uses to ferry people across the sea to Vale, but he also rents them out for a small fee. 'Junior' ain't his real name of course, but that's not really relevant."

She nodded. It wasn't surprising that he would know such people; there were other, more above board options for travelling between Patch and Vale, but that would have been too risky for them given they were fugitives from most powerful woman in Remnant, so he probably would go the more shady route for what he wanted.

And with that they set off to on their next step to get to Vale.

They mostly walked in silence for a few hours, Winter content that they were making progress and unsure how to broach the subject of her possible past, until they finally reached the seashore. Just as Qrow had said there was a small wooden hut there with few boats tied to the shore, rocking on the waves.

"Wait here," he motioned at Winter as he approached the hut, "I should only be a minute."

Inside was a rather large man with coal black beard and broad shoulders, more like a Papa Bear than a 'Junior', sitting at the back of the room at his desk, counting coins.

"Top of the morning, Junior!" greeted Qrow, getting the man's attention. "Still single, I see."

'Junior' looked up, startled by the unexpected voice. "...Qrow!" the seaman exclaimed, before his eyes narrowed a bit, "You haven't been here for ages. ...what do you want?"

"A boat, I need to get to Vale," answered the Huntsman, quickly adding, "personal business."

Junior shook his head. "No way! I run a business; I don't give boats away for free, and I highly doubt you have any money on you if you're coming to me for this instead of buying a ticket for the public ferry."

"But I will soon," Qrow replied, "I'll pay you back; you know I always settle my debts."

Junior shook his head again. "Gold up front, or no boat."

Qrow simply marched up towards him and slammed his hand on the table. "I'll get you the gold," he forcefully insisted, "and I will pay in full for the boat, but I need it now, badly, so don't think that I won't just take one anyway if you refuse me."

The seaman's head snapped up and met his eyes met Qrow's. For a while both men stared at each other, testing one another's will, neither giving an inch. However, in the end, Junior gave in.

"Fine, fine," he relented, "you can have the boat-" He jabbed his finger at the Huntsman. "-but I expect you to pay me, in full, before the end of the month. Or else!"

"Deal!" nodded Qrow, "And thanks, old man!" he added as he left. 'Junior' only let out another sigh, shaking his head, whatever made him open such business and deal with such people? He should have opened a little tavern...

* * *

Winter was waiting outside, clenching and unclenching her fists as she paced across the sand. She wanted to be on that boat now, to be in Vale and searching for General Ironwood's camp! She wanted to see the man who taught her to fight and find out if her little sister was alright! As she waited she wondered how Weiss fared- if she was alive, that is -after all these years. How much had she grown? Was Weiss as tall as her now, or was she still shorter? She let out a groan when she saw Qrow walking out of 'Junior's' house.

"We have the boat," he informed her, untying the line for one of the boats and pushing it into the water.

Before long they were in the water, with Qrow rowing while Winter kept an eye on the waves. She leaned back in the wooden craft, tugging at her sleeves. She wasn't exactly used to the cool sea breeze, or rather, she wasn't used to it anymore; she'd lived in confinement for so long...

Her mind began to wander and-unsurprisingly-her thoughts once again turned to her sister. Had she been practising her summoning in this time, or had she maybe abandoned it and turned to more traditionally female work? Did she have many suitors? Was she in a relationship with someone? Perhaps she was even married with a child; Weiss should be around seventeen or eighteen by now, which meant she was marriageable. ...did she remember about her sister, or did she forget about her completely? Weiss was just a little girl back then, after all.

Winter sighed deeply and wrapped her arms around herself, wishing she knew for sure.

"Oi, Winter!" Qrow's voice woke her from her musings, passing her the oars once he got her attention. "Your turn."

She was about to reply when their boat rocked suddenly and violently; a large, Grimm serpent burst from the depths a moment later, and both Winter and Qrow ended up in the water as the boat tipped over. At once Qrow swam back to the capsized boat and climbed on top, drawing his sword as he leaped forward, attacking the Grimm. Winter also climbed up the boat and tried to stand on the slippery, unstable surface. She looked up at Qrow, who was currently balancing on the creatures head, raising his sword in order to bury it in monster's scalp. She drew her own weapon and gripped it tight, pointing it forward and focusing on an image of a glyph. This was hard for multiply reasons: first and foremost was the fact she was out of practice (it wasn't like she was allowed to do this in her cell), and secondly she was tired and weak due to a lack of proper sleep and food. Lastly, and most immediately, the boat was slippery and violently rocking which did little to help her concentration.

After an eternal second of struggle she felt the power of her family's Semblance rush through her and felt the glyph forming beneath her feet. She was just about to launch herself in the air when the sea serpent dove into the water, rocking against the boat again. It took all of Winter's power to stay on her feet; she stood as still as she could until the boat finally calmed down.

"Qrow?" she called, looking at the water as her heart beat a steady tattoo in her chest. "...Qrow?" For a moment she got no answer. Fearing the worst, she slowly made few steps forward to peer over the side when Qrow suddenly emerged from the water, coughing violently.

"Man, that was a tough one...!" he wheezed, as if to himself, before pulling himself onto the capsized boat. At once Winter moved to help him, grabbing him by the shoulders and pulling him out of the water just as another serpent emerged from the water on the other side with a loud roar. Winter acted on instinct, dropping Qrow- he nearly fell back into the sea as a result -as she spun around and put her sword before her, causing a glyph to appear and block the attack the creature made. Her eyes narrowed and eyebrows knitted as she swung her weapon, pushing the beast away. The serpent attacked again, but Winter was ready now; it seemed that once she got into battle her instincts took over, long dormant reflexes wakening to the familiar stage of combat.

Another glyph appeared beneath her feet and she managed to set up a few around the Grimm before launching herself at it. With the speed of a lighting she bounced off the other glyphs, hitting the creature after each ricochet before springing in the air and stabbing it in the eye. The Grimm let out a roar and fell into the water, already starting to dissolve into smoke.

Winter landed on the water, where another glyph manifested, before turning her attention back to Qrow.

* * *

Qrow was speechless, to say the least. He hadn't expected to see a second Creature of Grimm spring from the depths right behind Winter. Despite this second Grimm looking younger and weaker than the one he'd just fought he was honestly a little scared, perhaps for the first time in a long while; he was a seasoned Huntsman- albeit a few years out of practice... -and although it ended quickly, his fight with the Serpent hadn't been an easy one.

And Winter was a girl who'd spent half her life locked in a cell, how much better could she honestly be expected to fair?

Fortunately his fear was replaced with awe when she blocked the monster's attack with a snow white glyph. He watched her fight and defeat the Grimm, then land on the water with the grace and poise of a warrior goddess.

"Are you alright?" she asked with slight concern in her voice as she helped him back onto the boat.

"Y-eah...w-what the hell was that?" he asked, unable to think straight and logical.

Winter bit her lip, glancing to the side. "T-that was my Semblance," she uttered, her cheeks slightly flushed; whether it was from the battle or something else it was hard to tell. "But now is not time for stories, we need to reach land before more of those monsters appear."

Qrow looked like he wanted to argue at first, but eventually nodded.  
"Right," he said, surveying the damage from the fight. "Well, our oars are gone and the boat doesn't look so good; probably won't survive the trip back, if I had to guess. Hmm...it might take a while, but if we leave the boat as is and use our swords to row, we should make it to Vale without too much trouble.

Winter gave him a curt nod and it wasn't long before the two were on their way again, rowing with help of their swords.

* * *

Weiss finally reached the edge of the woods, and a sigh of relief escaped her mouth. She didn't know how many of the same, leafless trees she could see in a single day, but if she saw another one after this it would be way too soon. But there was a downside to this whole situation; in the forest she was able to remain unnoticed by her targets. She could creep up close to them, with many places to hide among the brush, and then disappear again before she was spotted.

Out in the open she and none of those advantages, so extra caution was needed if she wanted to keep Roman and them unaware.

'But I have to do this,' she told herself, 'I have to; for Winter's sake! I just need to stay low...'

She immediately put the simple plan to life, and it wasn't long before she reached the seashore unnoticed. Torchwick and company, save for one man who tied up the horses, headed for a small hut; she herself crept alongside the wall and hid beneath the window, which was thankfully cracked open.

"Well, hello there, Junior!" she heard Roman speak, "I see business is going well; people are just lining up for miles!"

"What do you want, Roman?" came another male voice, presumably this 'Junior' person.

"Oh, nothing much, I was just wondering if you've seen a washed up Huntsman recently, goes by Qrow Branwen. And I mean very _recently,_ also, he has a girl with him."

"...sorry," answered Junior, "I haven't seen the man in ages. Knowing him, he's probably in some tavern drinking himself into a stupor."

No sooner had he spoke the words when Weiss heard the front door slam open.

"Sir, one of the boats is missing!" said a third voice, presumably belonging to the guard who took care of the horses.

"Oh?" said Torchwick, and Weiss could swear she heard the smirk in his voice, "Is that so...!"

"There are still people who need to travel to Vale," Junior said coolly, evidently trying to keep his voice calm and disinterested, "I don't see why that should matter."

"Really? Then who was here?" asked Roman"...who was here?" he repeated. When his question has met with defiance again, the sound of unsheathing swords came through together with noises of tumbled over furniture.

"Alright, alright!" exclaimed Junior, "Qrow was here- but he didn't have a girl with him! He came in some hours ago and asked for a boat- said it was personal business -and promised me money at the end of the month, that's all. NOW GET THE HELL OUT AND STOP TRASHING MY BUSINESS!"

For a second everything went silent. Then, after a brief struggle, followed by a muffled scream and a dull thud. Weiss was frozen in her spot, her eyes wide. Had...had what she thought happened actually just happen?

A moment later she received her answer when Torchwick and his men emerged from the hut, some of them cleaning their bloodied swords.

* * *

 **Hello everyone. A rather short chapter but, really I had such trouble with it. Writer's Block, other stories, other shows...but I think this is a pretty good ending, at least a cleaner one than the one I had originally in my mind.**

 **Well, Winter saved Qrow...to some extent. And I plan some more scenes for them, don't worry. As I probably said in the movie things went rather abruptly and while I assumed a lot must have happened in between for Erik to care about Snow so much but it was never really shown to us, and while I can't just drag the time line for months and have to keep to the more realistic few-days-time line because the distances are not quite as big, I am planning on doing some scenes that will show Winter and Qrow bonding with each other so that when the right time comes there- hopefully -won't be any confusion and 'but why would she/he care?'"**

 **and thanks to The Layman for Editing.**

 **Editor's Note: Hey guys, this story's still alive! I know, I'm surprised too! But seriously, Miss Vale hasn't forgotten about it. Editing this chapter took a lot longer for me than it normally would because Real Life decided to give me other obligations, but I still got through it! (Twitch streams, but watching them and streaming myself, has become my newest obsession.) Also, apparently there was a sequel to the original SW &TH that came out. Haven't seen it, probably won't.**

 **But on the subject of the chapter itself, we got to see our main chapters in action again! And Weiss got more "screen time" as well, though her adventure didn't turn out as well as her sister's. (I think a man might have been murdered, guys!) Torchwick seems to be gaining on our heroes, will he catch up to them next chapter? Fav and follow to find out!**


	7. Common Sorrows

**A/N: This is gonna be fucking heartbreaking I'm telling you guys. I might just play myself the way Tobias did and start crying cuz of my own fic.**

* * *

After a couple hours of exhaustive rowing Winter and Qrow finally reached the eastern shores of Vale. They both slid out of the boat, glad that they are finally free. Winter stumbled a bit, still stiff from the cold and long time remaining in same position, but she managed to regain her balance without too much difficulty, resting her hand against the boat to steady herself. She turned to Qrow to ask him something, and it was then that she saw that he was holding onto his side, looking incredibly pale and beyond exhausted.

He seemed to noticed her watching him and straightened up, but scarcely made it two steps before hissing in pain and falling to his knees. She was by his side in a second, dropping to her knees beside him.

"You're hurt!" she exclaimed. Her hands instinctively reached his shoulders, only for him to push them away.

"I'm fine!" he said through gritted teeth, "...We have to go, Roman's still on our tail!"

She furrowed her brow, feeling a stab of annoyance.

"Roman won't be here for a while," she said, "he wasn't that close behind us, and we still have few hours advantage over him. He may have more men, yet I didn't see any other boats large enough for them and their horses. And both of us are still exhausted from fighting with those Grimm; we, especially you, are in no condition to fight any more! We will surely meet them on our journey, so we need to recover our strength before that happens; if Roman catches up with us before we get to the General neither of us will be able to stand up to him!"

Qrow opened his mouth to protest, but another hiss of pain escaped his lips and he curled up a little. He couldn't hide from the fact that he was exhausted; he'd been walking and fighting for more than a day now, and he'd gotten injured on top of that, both during the fight with Roman and with the Sea Serpents, so he would probably be a liability if they ended up in another fight.

"...fine," he relented, "you win."

Winter said nothing as she helped him up, letting him lean on her before looking around for a place they could set up camp. She spotted a partly ruined building a bit further inland, partially set into the trees. She gestured at it with her head and began heading towards it, moving slowly since they were both tired. The place was in utter ruin, with no floor and only bits and pieces of wood lying around. There were only three walls left, some of them crumbled, and a damaged fireplace; what little that was left of the roof hung just to the right of the fireplace.

Winter helped Qrow settle down in a corner before looking around for something to start a small fire. She gathered up some of the scattered wood, then she collected the dried out plants that stuck out of the ground and some stones from outside. She put it all in the fireplace and, taking out two pieces of crumbled stone and made a first attempt to light the fire; it took her a few tries before she could get sparks from the rocks.

"Hey...Winter," Qrow spoke up after a while.

She stiffened; there was something in his voice that caused her hands to shake, and she could guess where he was heading.

"Y-yes?" she asked, trying to keep her voice steady and disinterested.

"You're the late King Schnee's eldest daughter, aren't ya? I've had my suspicions for a while, but what you did fighting the Serpents basically confirmed it." Winter's grip on the stones tightened, so much that it actually started to hurt. She couldn't find her voice, much less the words to reply; all she could do was nod her head slowly. "...So, do you want to tell me why you've been lying about who you are all this time?"

There was a long and rather uncomfortable silence, so thick that you could successfully hang a hammer in the air. Unable to cope with it, Winter finally spoke.

"Listen, I know what it looks like, but I had my reasons."

Qrow made a motion to indicate she should continue.

"If you recall correctly you were with the Queen back when we first met; that isn't exactly best way to earn the trust of someone who recently escaped from her clutches, and later on when you fought off her men I still wasn't sure what you would do! And I'm sorry, but with your drinking and shabby ways you didn't exactly scream 'honour and nobility' to me." She heard him sneer, and bit her lip before continuing in a much more subdued voice. "...and I was scared that you'd leave me behind if you knew of my parentage. I may share my father's name, but I know very well that he was as far from being a good king. I know my family and our ways have left a sour taste in the mouths of many people: the despicable attitude to the Faunus, the lack of care for those less fortunate, all the scandals and unspeakable treatment of other officials and of messengers, I'm aware of it all, and my father inheriting the throne only ended up exacerbating these problems."

She paused, remembering the cold expression her father always wore and how he used to ridiculed her and Weiss, slapping them in front of other people, especially servants, to humiliate them. How when she defended a Faunus handmaiden from some guards who were pulling the poor thing's ears- Velvet was her name, she remembered -he came in and locked her in a pig stall, telling her that if she loved animals so much that she should be happy living with them. She had only been ten years old at the time!

"But I'm not him, and I hope our time together has proven that." She blinked, trying to fight off the tears. Her father was dead for over a decade, and had died a horrible death in the end during the coup, but she still was angry with him! "I'm sorry, Qrow," she whispered at long last, too afraid to look him in the eye.

* * *

Qrow didn't know how he felt. From the moment he discovered her Semblance he knew for sure that she was a Schnee. He kicked himself throughout their entire journey here for not realizing it sooner: the white hair, blue eyes, her formal demeanour, the way she was sure that Jimmy would pay good money for her safe return...and of course, her name.

Winter.

Winter Schnee, the elder, rebellious princess that wanted to be a soldier.

Oh yes, he'd heard of her training; such news spread fast and wide, especially if you were close to Ozpin. (How that man knew EVERYTHING that was going in Remnant, he couldn't being to fathom.)

At first he'd had been angry with her, first and foremost for keeping such an important piece of information from him. Did she really think he wouldn't figure it out eventually? If they got to Jimmy he surely would!

Secondly, she was a Schnee, and he, like many others in Remnant, had despised her family...which kind of made him agree with her- albeit reluctantly- on her caution; as difficult as it was for one to admit, his first reaction would most likely have been to leave her in that forest like she insinuated. Heck, even during their row over here he considered just abandoning once they reached the shore.

However, he soon gave up on the idea. Yes, she was a Schnee, but it didn't matter; he had promised to bring her to Jimmy, and dammit he would do just that! He was a Huntsman on a mission, after all, and, even though he would never admit it out loud, she wasn't really a Schnee to him anymore: she wasn't the cold and aloof Ice Queen that he always imagined Schnee women to be, nor was she a spoiled princess that just treated people as nothing more than tools for her own amusement. She had shown that she could take care of herself, as well as work on a team and defend her fellow men in a battle.

He turned to her as she talked, and noticed that when she got to admitting her father's and family's wrongdoings a certain look appeared in her eyes, as though she had experienced it all first hand. Which was probably true, if what he had heard about her father held any weight, and the sudden pause in her little rant seemed to confirmed that.

"I'm sorry, Qrow," he heard her say, her voice shaking and her eyes welling with tears, "I'm sorry that I lied to you, but I was desperate to get to the General. ...my little sister is there, you see, and I must know that she is alright!"

He stirred at the mention of a sister, and felt a mix of sadness, understanding and sympathy wash over him as old memories unrestrained by liquor started to surface: Yang and Ruby, Summer and Taiyang... _Raven..._

"Don't worry," he said with a sigh, banishing the memories, "I forgive you. And I won't leave you either, I'll bring you to Jimmy and to your little sister like I promised."

"Thank you," she nodded.

"Sure. Now though, I guess we should catch some sleep," he continued. "We still have a long way to go tomorrow..."

Again Winter nodded, before the tinder finally caught light. Qrow backed himself further against the wall, covering himself in his cape before closing his eyes and drifting off into slumberland.

* * *

H _e was traveling down a muddy road, it was raining heavily, so it was hard to tell the time but it had to be nearing eight. He picked up his pace, wishing to get home soon. Ruby and Yang will be awake soon and asking about breakfast. He smiled a little. He'd managed to get some sugar and flour today- better not to ask by what means- and after they're done with proper food they'd make some sweet little cakes that Ruby liked so much. As soon as he approached house however, his smile faded replaced by tingle of anxiety. Something was off...he looked around and after a short inspection noticed that there was a cut out opening in the left side of the brier patch that surrounded their house. It wasn't big enough for any adult or a youth to come through but small children could fit through...a cold shiver run down his spine and his blood turned into ice. It couldn't be! He rushed towards the back of the house, as expected the door was bolted from the outside by a broom. No, no, no no! Without thinking he dashed inside, only one thing on his mind. He grabbed his weapon, that hung on the wall in the main hallway before dashing outside again and speeding towards the forest as fast as he could all the while praying that the girls haven't gone far nor met any Grimm yet."Yang! Ruby!" he called out for them "Yang! Ruby!" Silence answered him, only increasing his worry. He tried to quell it by telling himself that the forest was big and they could have not heard him, that they might have gotten tried and fallen asleep in some hole or fallen tree. He moved forward, his weapon drawn in the scythe form as his eyes scanned the area carefully and then...he stopped. Before one of the dark trees, he saw a pale form lying in the dirt, it's blond hair scattered around like hay."Yang!" he called, dropping his weapon and running up to the girl's side, he fell to his knees by her side. He grabbed her wrist, but there was no pulse, no aura. His vision blurred and he let out a strangled gasp, of pain, hugging the girl tightly. Her brushed her hair, and it was then when he noticed the bruise on her head. It was unnoticeable otherwise, due to the rich blonde hair that crowned her head. He swallowed again and hid his face in it. But in a second a realization hit him. Yang wasn't here alone, she was with Ruby! Where was Ruby? If Yang fell and hit her head the little girl could have ran away out of fright. He laid his niece back on the ground, putting her hands across her chest. "I'll be right back" he promised, before picking up his scythe again and moving along in search of Ruby. "Ruby?" he called again, this time in a little softer tone, but still loud enough "Rubes? It's me, uncle Qrow, it's alright to come out lil' one no need to be scared anymore!" He made few steps further, and then his world crumbled. Ruby was lying right before him, her body twisted in most awkward and unnatural ways, he could actually see some of the bones sticking out of her flesh, dried blood staining her clothes and skin. His weapon fell from his hands and he fell to his knees. And then an inhuman scream left his lips_ -

* * *

Qrow jerked upright with a loud scream of terror, his eyes wide and his breathing erratic, still not fully aware that he had woken up. It was only a while later that he registered he crashed into something soft, and that he is being held by a pair of arms.

"Shh...," he heard a soft female voice in his ear, like a faint gust of wind in the middle of winter, "shhh, it's alright, everything's fine now. I've got you."

He was still shaken, but his breathing evened out a bit and he at least got some clue where he really was. He felt the woman before him move and pull away, but only an arm's length, her hands still resting on his shoulders as she looked at him with concern in her eyes.

* * *

Winter had been in her own dream world when she was woken up by a loud clang and a cry. She'd sprung up and reached for her weapon, thinking they were being attacked, but upon looking around she found no intruders. Then her eyes fell on Qrow; the man was lying on the ground, trashing around and calling out for some people named Ruby and Yang. She felt her heart skip a beat and then sink before she scrambled to her feet and quickly made her way to his side. She reached out with her hand, wishing to shake him awake from his nightmare, when he suddenly sprang upright.

It must have been intuition, really, when she caught him and wrapped her arms around him. She used to do this with Weiss when they were young; like many young children, Weiss reacted to things strongly and occasionally had nightmares, and sometimes even used to sleepwalk. With such experience her next words and actions came naturally as she tried to reassure Qrow and bring him back to the real world. It seemed to work, since he managed to calm down a bit. She pulled away, but not too far, not really comfortable with letting him go just yet.

"Were you having a bad dream?" she asked, purely to somehow break the tense silence. Qrow didn't answer, turning his eyes to the side.

"No, more like a memory...," he corrected her. She nodded, and there was another pause as she tried to find the best words to convey her thoughts. She remembered Ruby and Yang's names very well, since those were the people- girls, she suspected -that Cinder apparently promised to bring to life in exchange for his services; a fat lie; of course. She wondered who exactly they were, to make Qrow so desperate to have them back as to fall for such an obvious trap. Of course, there was one very plausible option...

"...Qrow?" She spoke slowly, bringing his attention back to her, "Were...were Yang and Ruby your daughters? What happened to them?" She let out a sigh when the man didn't answer. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," she said, "I understand if it's too painful, but...maybe you should get it off your chest? It you might feel better if you tell your story to someone...someone who, maybe, knows how it feels." She rubbed her arm before she continued, "After all, I know what it's like to lose everything you cared about."

For a while there as silence, as if Qrow debated on her words. Then he let out a sigh.

"They weren't my daughters," he said at length, "...well, not by blood anyway. They were the kids of my former teammates, but I still loved them like they were my own; I was the only family they had left after their parents died." There was a pause as he tried to compose himself again. "...we were quite a happy family, albeit a bit broken." He smiled sadly, "And then it happened." He told her everything, recounting his dream. "They were just little kids," he whispered, tears streaming down his face, "Ruby...she was only six! She was so innocent and sweet..., a-and Yang was always a basket of sunshine, always so full of life, I just...who would want to kill two little kids? What kind of monster would do that?"

Winter said nothing, her own eyes were glazed over with tears; then she moved forward and once more wrapped her arms around him.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered, "so sorry..."

…

* * *

 **Author's Note: TADA. Another chapter is done, I think this is an appropriate moment to finish. Here we have first really shippy scene with these two. It's based of the scene in Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow, when Ichabod dreams about his mother and falls straight into Kathrine Van Tassel's arms as she's looking after him at the moment. I think it's not too OOC, I mean Winter isn't cold and she does seem to me like someone who would have tried and asked what's wrong at least if confronted with such situation.**

* * *

Editor's Note: Well, would you guys like a side of Kleenexes with that super sized helping of feels? Seriously though, we're finally getting some progress towards Winter and Qrow getting together; now they have something in common to bond over, even if it's about them experiencing similar tragedies. But hey, it's still something, right?

Anyway, who knows what will happen next? (Well, anyone who's seen the movie, for starters...) Tune in next time to find out!


	8. The Women of Mount Glenn

Qrow glanced back at Winter as they made their way down the main roads towards the capital of Vale. Since their confessions two days ago something changed between them. One would expect the air to clear a bit now that her biggest secret was out, and in a way it was...but at the same time there was something more to it as well, something different, at least from his side. And he couldn't quite put his finger on it either; he would now catch himself staring a little bit longer at the young woman than usual, glancing back to check on her far more often than he had before, and he also found himself at loss of words whenever their eyes met, never quite knowing what to say, so he kept silent.

They continued walking until finally they reached the borders of Mountain Glenn, a would be expansion of Vale that was destroyed during Cinder's bloody coup. Qrow felt a pang of sadness as he thought about the lives of the Huntsmen, his brothers and sisters in arms, who lost their lives when Cinder felled Beacon and drove Ozpin away, as well as the civilians that also lived there. They all fought valiantly, but ultimately failed.

"...Qrow?" He was brought back to the present when Winter walked up to him and put her hand on his shoulder, which caused a strange sensation to wash over him. "Is everything alright?"

"Uh, y-yeah," he said, getting a grip of himself and running his hand down his face, "it is. Let's get going."

Winter nodded determinedly, and they both stepped over the invisible border into Mount Glenn. However they didn't get far when Qrow's keen senses told him they were being observed. His brow furrowed and he looked around as discreetly as possible, and soon his eyes caught a shadow of movement behind them. He slowed his pace slightly, and put his hand in front of Winter's while reaching for his weapon at the same time.

"It's not use hiding anymore; I know you're there, just come on out!"

For a while there was nothing but silence. Then, suddenly, a group of people emerged from behind the ruined buildings. One of them, a girl with black hair and a bow on top of her head came forward. She was dressed in a long white coat, wore a pair of tall, black boots, and in her hand she held a large, cleaver like sword.

"Who are you?" she asked sharply, narrowing her golden eyes at Qrow and Winter.

Qrow said nothing, his eyes darting back and forth between the people around him. They were mostly women, and mostly Faunus from what he could tell. They were all dressed in simple garments, and used equally simple weapons. Many of the weapons were very old, most likely things they'd collected from the ruins and wreckage of the battle: abandoned swords and shields crudely reforged back at home. He guessed they were mostly used for self defence, and another look at the women and the way they held their weapons confirmed that. Many of the women looked at them with the curious wariness of people trying to determine whether or not they were in any danger. He relaxed his posture.

"We're refugees on the run from 'Her Majesty' Queen Cinder," he explained, holding up his hands in plain view. Many of the women looked at each other, repeating his sentence in astonished whispers. "We're on our way to General Ironwood's camp, we're not here to harm any of you!"

After considering his statement the black-haired girl finally lowered her sword, though her gaze remained wary. "...Then why did you raise your sword?" she asked.

"I told you, we're on the run. And this place happens to be a former battlefield and a ruin, in case you hadn't noticed; I didn't know if you were Grimm or bandits or what."

The girl said nothing, considering his words, when another voice suddenly came in.

"Miss Winter?" it said it disbelief, "is that really you?" The golden-eyed girl turned around in surprise, and Qrow felt Winter stiffen behind him as a tall bunny Faunus, a girl with brown hair and brown eyes, broke from the crowd and came forward.

"Velvet!" Winter cried, darting past Qrow towards the brunette, taking the girl's hands into her own.

Qrow and the others just stared at the reunion confusedly.

"You two know each other?" the black-haired girl asked, to which Velvet nodded.

"Yes! This is Miss Winter, Blake," she explained, "I've told you before, remember; the one who saved me from the guards when I was little?" Blake's eyes narrowed as she took in Winter's appearance, but didn't say anything.

Qrow raised his eyebrow. Winter actually sided with a Faunus while still living at her father's castle? That was interesting.

"Right, yes, indeed," Blake said after a while, a small, amiable smile now on her face. "Forgive me, I didn't recognized you at first; 'Winter' is a very popular name all around the world, and you hadn't given us your title or your last name."

Winter nodded, and Blake turned her eyes from her to Qrow again.

"And you are?" she asked.

"The name's Qrow," he said, not bothering with his last name. Blake wouldn't recognize him anyway; she couldn't be any more than eighteen or nineteen years old at most, so his career would have been dead by the time she was old enough to remember anything.

"...You're a Huntsman?" questioned Blake further.

"Ex-Huntsman now," he corrected her, "but yeah, basically."

She nodded and fell silent again, visibly contemplating something.

"The General is stationed in Forever Fall," she said after a while, "in the most southwest part of it."

Qrow opened his mouth to say something, perhaps to thank her, but was suddenly cut off by a sudden, sharp pain in his side. He couldn't help but grimace, and his sword fall from his hands. Damn, he forgot about his injuries; they must have been worse than he had thought!

"Qrow?" Winter was by his side in seconds, concern written all over her face. Her eyes scanned him, stopping on the hand resting on his side. She quickly reached out and pried it away; she gasped when she noticed a wet, red stain forming on his shirt. She then turned to Blake and Velvet. "He's seriously injured," she told them, "please, do you have anything I could use to dress his wounds?"

The two girls exchanged looks and held a brief, whispered conversation, before Blake nodded. "Of course, come this way." With that she spun around and walked away, Velvet in tow. Winter, just like the other night, put her arms around Qrow, letting him rest on her as they walked. He tried not to grimace, but it was a fool's errand as every step send new waves of pain through his body. He really, really shouldn't have left his wounds unattended when his Aura hasn't fully restored.

"We are almost there," he heard Winter say, "just bare with it for few more moments; we're almost there..."

* * *

Qrow hissed as Blake poured alcohol on his wound.

"Gah! That's not the kind of alcohol buzz I'm used to!"

"Sorry," said the girl, "but I need to clean it. Unless you want it to get infected?"

He said nothing, letting his eyes wander around the hollowed out cavern they'd retreated to. He had to admit, this was a really impressive place; a whole underground community, hidden away from the eyes of the Queen! It was well organized and seemed like any other place on Remnant; in fact, it felt like Patch the way it was before the war. Blake truly was a genius, organizing these- as he suspected -survivors from the capital and small villages, and hiding them where Cinder would neither think nor bother to look for them.

His eyes wandered around to the faces of the women and children, finally resting across from him where Velvet and Winter were talking. The two women seemed to be rather close, chatting animately about what he supposed to be how their lives went since they saw each other last. It was the first time he had seen Winter like this: at ease...almost happy, even. It caused a strange, fuzzy feeling to swell in his chest, and not the one he usually got when he drank. He suddenly wished he could see her like this more often.

But...there was a question on his mind as well.

"Say, kid," he said to Blake, "what's the story between Winter and Velvet?"

"I'm not a kid! I'm nineteen, for your information!" Blake snapped, "...but to answer your question, Winter helped Velvet back back in Atlas when she was still a servant at the palace. Velvet told me that one day, when she was being harassed by the guards, Winter stepped in and saved her, threatening those young men at sword point. When the news of it reached the King he was furious, and locked his daughter in a pig-sty for two weeks, without food and with only the rainwater to drink." She frowned, falling silent.

Qrow's eyes winded, and he glanced over at Winter again, once more surprised and impressed by her bravery. She risked her freedom and her good relationship with her father for a young Faunus servant? Once more she proved to him that she was completely different than what he thought she'd be like, and once more showed that she had the spirit of a Huntress within her, helping those in need without a second thought. His heart clenched with guilt when he remembered that barely two days ago he considered, however briefly, leaving her to the Queen because of his stupid prejudice. However, this guilt was soon replaced by determination, his resolve to bring her to Jimmy becoming even stronger than it was before.

* * *

Weiss continued to follow Roman and his people, and now they made their way through the Kingdom of Vale. It was ironic; she'd left these shores for Patch not more than a few days ago to find her sister, and now she was back for the same purpose. Though Weiss's mind didn't consider the irony right now; she was, instead, thinking of her sister and Qrow Branwen. She was scared for them after what she'd witnessed, or rather heard, of what Roman and his men did to that poor man in the shack. They killed him, mercilessly and needlessly, after they got what they wanted from him. These people had no qualms or morals, and if they got to her sister and the man who helped her escape, well...Weiss didn't even want to imagine what would happen to them in such a scenario.

Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by one of the men. "Sir! I found this filthy brat trying to pickpocket us!"

There seemed to be something going on; one of the goons was holding up a young boy- around her own age, apparently -with spiky green hair and ratty clothes.

"'Trying' being the operative word here," said Roman, leaning down to get a better look at the boy, "So, brat...what's your name?"

"R-r-russell Thrush," said the boy, trembling under the stern gaze of the redhead, "b-but please, sir, don't punish me! I didn't know who you were! Life ain't been easy here recently...I-I'm just trying to survive! You understand that, right? Doing everything you can just to keep yourself alive?"

The words apparently resonated with Roman, and after a moment he motioned at the guard to let the boy go.

"Tell me, Russell Thrush," he said, "how would you like to earn some coin? Enough to keep yourself alive for the next six months?"

Russell's eyes winded for a while and then he nodded eagerly. Weiss furrowed her brow and sneaked moved closer, hiding behind a rock as she listened intently.

"Good," said Roman as he stood back up. "You're a local, aren't you? Then tell me, have you seen some strangers come through here recently? You see, I'm looking for a pair of people, a man and a woman. He looks like a lowlife; torn cape, unkempt hair, probably reeks of booze..., and the woman is dressed in white and has long white hair and blue eyes."

"I saw them, earlier," nodded Russell, "They passed through this morning, and my friends tell me they ran off to the secret village."

"...Secret village?" asked Roman.

"Yeah!" confirmed Russell, "It's mostly Faunus women that are hiding in the caves of Mountain Glenn."

Roman smiled. "Really? Then do you think you could you lead us there? I promise you'll be rewarded!"

Russell nodded eagerly before leading the way, with Roman motioning others and riding behind him on the horses he had stolen from one of the villagers on his way here.

Weiss continued to follow them, now even more worried for her sister.

* * *

It was late at night but Winter couldn't sleep, her eyes fixed on the ceiling of the cave. It all seemed so surreal; here she was, in an underground community of warrior women, and one of them just happened to be Velvet, the servant girl she helped so long ago. Now, it seemed like it had happened in another lifetime and to another person...and yet, at the same time, it felt heart-warming. It was good to meet a familiar face, and for it to be a kind and friendly one as well. It gave her hope for finding Weiss alive as well, for if Velvet, who hadn't escaped into the protection of James Ironwood, had survived, then Weiss truly stood a chance. Winter smiled at the thought, it seemed like things at long last started to look much better...

"Winter?" She was brought back to reality by Qrow's voice. She turned her head and saw the man standing over her; in the dim light of a nearby torch his brownish red eyes shone with a comforting warmth to them. Her breath caught in her throat...how did she never notice how beautiful his eyes were, and how deep their colour was? Or how ruggedly handsome his face was? He looked like an outlaw from an old ballad, who fought for the freedom and justice of people around him...

"Y-Yes?" she asked at length, trying to keep the tremble out of her voice, her cheeks feeling warm. She was sure glad for the shadows around them. What was going on with her all of a sudden?

"I...," he paused, "I just wanted to say that...I'm gonna bring you to Jimmy, I promise."

"I know" Winter said, furrowing her brow. Didn't he tell her so back in that ruined house, first night after they arrived in Vale?

"No, you don't understand!" he shook his head, "What I wanted to say is that I'll bring you to Jimmy, no matter what will stand in our way and...and that I'll do it for free; you don't have to pay me those hundred gold coins I asked for. You've done so much for me during this journey that I'm the one who now owes you."

For the second time Winter felt her breath cut short and she was at the loss of words. She opened and closed her lips a couple of times, unable to find the proper words.

"Thank-" she started to say, but before she could finish there was a loud rumbling sound, as if something heavy fell. She and Qrow turned around, and in the same moment all hell broke loose.

* * *

 **So a bit of cliffhanger because I really have 0 how to end it, I rewrote it. Sorry if anything is confusing with Vale, I just tried to incorporate what we know from WoR into it.**

 **Yes Blake is here and so is Velvet. I know I probably could put them with...well other group but there were these women in the movie, and I thought it would be cool to have Blake run such a colony given she's so involved in the equality fight and used to be in The White Fang and believe in it before it turned more violent. She seems like one to have it. Her outfit is based on her newest one from Vol4. As for Velvet she's here a bit to add more trustworthiness to Qrow and Winter, to thaw the doubts. Plus I like her so I wanted a bit of her and she seems like someone who'd be in such a place too, trying to help her kin and those less fortunate and organize survivors.**

 **We also have Russell, he is a jerk like Cardin and he does give me off the vibe of a guy that would become a pickpocket or thief when chips were down and that he wouldn't have many qualms about betraying and denouncing people.**

 **Also a bit of fluffy Qrowin there, not an exactly romantic scene but we do need some build-up. They already had some talks and got to know each other a bit, and they had this one spontaneous moment last chapter. Now time for their relationship to shift a bit more, and for another step-not doing it for money anymore. On Qrow's part. Also in the movie Erick has left Snow at this point, but since Qrow has already promised Winter he'll get her there I thought it would be a bit backwards if he suddenly jumped back to leaving her. Even if it would be to 'protect' her or something. He gave his word after all...and Erik...well in the last scene before leaving he did not say anything of that kind so...yeah. I hope you liked this chapter. It really took me a lot to write it, as I had huge writer's block which I still kind of have...**

* * *

Editor's note: So on the technical side of things the most I need to do for this chapter was a little touch up for the dialogue in some places and the usual typo fixes.

As for the story, it looks like something's going down, tonight, at the underground hideout! Also, dat Qrowin fluff.

Oh, and hooray for RWBY Vol.4 finally coming out! Woo!


End file.
